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Article: Against the legalization of heroin.(drug legalization)
- Article from:
- Criminal Justice Ethics
- Article date:
- January 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The case against drug legalization rests on the empirical premise that drug use would increase in the absence of drug control laws. Everything I know about human nature and the effects of drugs supports this. People use drugs because they are pleasurable, and because they are an effective antidote to anxiety, frustration, and feelings of inadequacy. Were drugs legal, they would be socially destigmatized and they would become easier to acquire, cheaper to purchase, and safer to use. Given the genuine psychological benefits of drug use, we can be sure that it would increase were drugs legalized.
The predictable increase in drug use alone, however, does not justify ...